


Road Complex

by magnedhead



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Action, Character Death, Destiny, EDZ, Earth, Fallen, Family Reunions, Gen, Hive, Memory Loss, Returned memories, Reunions, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26914363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnedhead/pseuds/magnedhead
Summary: Avira is a Hunter of the Last City, out on a solo-patrol through the EDZ. During her investigation of a mysterious ambush, the radio connection with the Last City goes dark. Findings from the investigation as well as talks with a local town imply a darker force at work, which Avira must combat with all her skill, at a time when events out of her control rob her of her greatest weapon; the Light.





	1. Prologue - Trail of Destruction

_“Travel far and travel wide, and know that you are always welcome home.”_

The Speaker

The Hunter knelt and rolled the corpse onto its back. A Fallen Vandal. Several harsh burn-wounds spread across its torso and one of its lower arms is wrapped in a wet cloth. Whether water, ointment, or blood, she does not feel the need to check.

Several other Fallen corpses litter the small clearing. Some of them are still cooling, put down by the Hunter, but some were dead when she arrived. The dead all sports the same burns as her initial subject of examination, just to a larger degree. One poor dreg had been gutted with a bladed weapon.

“I detect traces of something. Not Fallen in origin.” Her Ghost said as it drifts silently between the corpses.

“Something?” The Hunter asked. “Split, what do you mean, ‘something’?”

Split turned towards her, its shell spinning slowly around the core. “Just that, Avira. There’s residual energy, but I cannot trace it. I actually can’t even be sure it’s not Fallen.”

Avira stood up. It was hardly the first time she had stumbled upon the remainders of a patrol of Fallen on Earth, but usually the cause would be apparent. Infighting or other Guardians. Their livery marked them as from the House of Devils, the most common Fallen House on Earth, so not much help there.

“Maybe if we find where they came from, we’ll learn more.” Split said.

“Already on it.” Avira said, looking at a Fallen claw print in the dirt.

Judging by the track, the Fallen group had moved in a straight a line as had been feasible. Broken branches and trodden plants littered their backtrail, as well as discarded pieces of gear. Here and there the Hunter and Ghost discovered more corpses abandoned at the side of the road. They exhibited the same burns as the ones in the clearing but Split finds nothing that sheds light on the mystery.

After following the trail for a quarter of an hour they find a crashed skiff on the forest floor. Several trees had been smashed aside or reduced to splinters by what must have been a sudden descent. Explosions had ripped out large chunks of the skiff, the scorched parts scattered over the newly made clearing and beyond. Here there are yet more Fallen corpses. It had been quite a large group initially, but when Avira encountered them there had only been 4 left standing. Now there were none.

“Same story as with all the corpses,” Split said after emerging from the wreckage, “But at least this time there’s data logs.”

“They say anything interesting?”

Pinpricks of Light danced over Split’s shell as he worked. “Nothing directly concerning their attackers, but they mention a town a kilometre or so away; the Fallen called it Rivertown.”

“They know a human language?” Avira said in surprise.

“I cannot say for sure if they know what it means, but that is what the town is called on their map.”

‘Rivertown’ was a small settlement built on the edge of a flowing river. Avira could see several houses as well as a larger, central building. All the buildings looked old, but in good repair. A wall encircled the entire village, where Avira could see sentries on patrol.

“All seems well, clearly no recent Fallen raids.” Split said.

“Call it in, then we’ll go down there and see if they know something.” Avira said. The missing energy signature had her worried.

Split went quiet for a moment to send the requested signal. “Funny.” Her Ghost said after a moment.

Avira said nothing, just looked at her Ghost and raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe it’s the tree cover, but no reply from the Tower.”

“Not even acknowledgement of the report?” Avira asked.

“Not even that. Just noise.” Split said.

“I heard a storm was rolling in. Might be that.” Avira said. She was not overly worried; she was a Hunter after all. Hunters are used to operating alone.

“I’ll keep trying. Let’s go down there, maybe they have some stronger radio equipment we can use.” Split said.

A dozen sentries patrolled around the walls; rifles of some description held in their arms. They were not seasoned Guardians, but the sentries were no strangers to their firearms. When Avira approached through the brush, arms in the air, 3 of the rifles were pointed at her, the wielders calmer than she had expected.

“Who goes there?” One of them shouted, an older man with a balding head and a finger resting alongside the trigger of his rifle.

“Avira, Guardian of the City and the Tower.” Avira replied, hands still in the air. Once or twice she had encountered small villages that knew nothing of either, isolated since the Collapse or even before that. Cayde-6 had told her a story once of an island where the inhabitants had been untouched in the collapse, but even so they still used bamboo spears and animal skins and unspun wool was still the height of fashion.

“A Guardian?” The balding man said and lowered his rifle. The other weapons remained trained on her.

“We haven’t seen any of your kind for a long time. Why didn’t you give word ahead of time?”

Avira pointed nonchalantly at Split hovering above her shoulder. “We tried. Radio was all static.”

The balding man groaned. “That’s still a problem? Our radio’s been out for days.”

Avira and Split exchanged a look. No contacting the Tower then.

“If I might ask, why are you here, lady Guardian?” The man asked.

“You can call me Avira.” Avira said, motioning towards the wood line behind her. “We found a trail of dead Fallen, House of Devils. We couldn’t identify what killed them, but we did find the location of a village in their data logs. Thought we’d check in.”

“Dead Fallen you say? Captain got a white helmet?”

Split brought up an image on Avira’s helmet display and Avira nodded at the bald sentry.

That got a smile from the man. “Must have been Rallas and his gang. Have been harassing us for months, and the raids were getting worse. My thanks to whoever finished him off, then.”

Avira wondered if the man could say the same if he had seen the trail she had. This had not been some Guardian passing through without a word. 

“I’d like to ask around your village, see if I can’t find out who or what did finish them off.” Avira called out.

“Maybe try your radio too, see if my Ghost can’t punch a message through.” She added at Split’s request.

The balding man scratched at his beard. That, at least, seemed to have retained its vigour. “If you leave your weapons here. Refard would shave my beard if I let a stranger into the village armed, Guardian or no.”


	2. Not the Last Town

Avira handed her weapons to one of Bald’s fellow sentries and followed the man into the village. Many villagers greeted her escort as they passed, calling him Bachmann. Some asked about the armoured person following him, but he gave the same explanation to all. Wait for the elder’s word. The town was small, and they quickly reached the central building. The façade towered above the town, decorated with a stained-glass window that had been difficult to see from Avira’s initial viewpoint. She had assumed it to be a townhall of some variety, but standing in front of the oak double doors, it seemed more like a church.

“Look, the image in the window.” Split said.

Avira looked at it again. At first, she had noticed the window, but not registered the image depicted in the shards of coloured glass. A central, white orb shone down a green land. Above the orb was blackness. Avira was sure that it was not just the dark of space, but Darkness from the Collapse. She could not say why she knew this, so she did not mention it to Split.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Bachmann said. She had not noticed him standing next to her side.

“Our ancestors settled down here before the Last City was established and built that,” Bachmann indicated the façade and the building beyond, “As the centre of town. The stained-glass window came later.”

“Your town, Kulmbach, it’s older than the City? How have you survived?” Split asked.

Bachmann patted the rifle slung over his chest. “We train well, and we keep the wall solid.” He said.

As he waved them on and started walking towards a smaller building constructed in the afternoon shade of the church, Split drifted close to Avira. “I doubt any amount of training would keep a small town alive like this. Probably lucky placement, close enough to the City to see Guardians now and then but too far to be noticed by the Fallen that pick at the Wall.”

Avira agreed silently then trotted quickly up to where Bachmann was waiting. Next to the church was a building built without doors, almost like a saloon out of the old movie-westerns you could still find in the Last City beyond the Wall. Electric lights lit the interior, showing a large central table and banks of computers and radio equipment arranged by the walls.

“Still just static from the City.” Split said silently as Avira entered the saloon behind Bachmann.

A small group of people stood around the central table, poring over a map, and working at the radios.

One of the men at the table stood up. “And who’s this?”

“They’re a Guardian. They walked up to the wall just now, wanted to see if the town was alright.” Bachmann said.

The man looked to Avira. Several of the others in the room did the same. “And why would we not be alright?”

“We found a long trail of dead Fallen,” Split said, “And in their active data logs we found the location of this town.”

“We also have had trouble with our radio, and we were hoping to borrow your equipment.” Avira added.

The remaining person looking over the map, an old woman with white hair and one eye covered by a patch, started and looked at Avira, but said nothing. Avira returned the gaze briefly, albeit through her helmet.

“We asked, and they confirmed that the dead Fallen captain had a white mask.” Bachmann said with a grin on his face.

“Must be Rallas and his cronies then. Good riddance.” The man said with passion, then looked back to Avira.

“Thank you for ridding us of Rallas. He has been a thorn in our side for years.”

“We didn’t kill Rallas.” Split said.

“We found him, and his gang scattered over a kilometre-long trail through the forest. Killed by something that left no recognizable signature,” Avira explained, “Coupled with the mysterious radio static, we thought we had better check it out.”

The man nodded slowly. “Well, he is dead, that is what is most important here. As for the static, we have been wrestling with it all day as well. Even on a normal day it would be trouble, but we sent a scouting party out yesterday and now we can’t contact them.”

“Can I try?” Split said.

The unnamed man approved it with a wave towards the radio banks where a younger man sat thumbing through manuals. Bachmann left, returning to his duty at the wall.

The static, and the lack of intel it was creating, was beginning to nag at Avira. She mentally noted Bachmann’s appearance and where she had met him at the wall. If she needed her guns, she would know where to go.

The one-eyed woman was standing in front her now. She was slightly bent with age, but Avira could see that she would have been about Avira’s height when she was younger. The old woman looked at Avira like she had seen a ghost.

“Uhm, can we help you, ma’am?” Split said.

She made to speak but said nothing. After a moment she looked at Avira again. “If you would speak, Guardian.”

Split looked to Avira.

“What do you want me to say?” Avira said. The old woman’s gaze unnerved her. No, unnerved was not the right way. It was more like…

Deja-vu?

“That will do just fine, Guardian. Could I ask you to remove your helmet? Kulmbach is a safe place, there is no danger.” The old woman said.

“I would prefer to keep it on.” Avira said.

“Please. Humour an old woman.”

The saloon had fallen silent. Even the young man at the radio only gave the pretence of work.

Avira pressed a pair of seals on either side of her neck. The helmet hissed as the seal disengaged and she lifted the helmet off her head. She had no complications about her appearance. She just preferred to keep the helmet on when outside the City, for safety reasons.

She heard intakes of breath all around the saloon. Now even the pretences of work stopped. The old woman looked away, her mouth a thin, pale line.

Split made a frustrated noise from the line of radios. “Bah, no change. The signal must be going through, but they’re not responding.”

The Ghost swung around, seeing the awed silence around Avira. “What’s going on?”

“Beats me.” Avira said silently.

After a moment, the old woman left the saloon, her eye still at the floor. Avira looked at her as she left, but the gaze was not returned. 

The old man that had greeted Avira’s arrival spoke up. “I hope you will forgive Seline. It is just,” The man paused.

“Yes?” Avira motioned for him to continue. She made a point of putting her helmet on the table. She almost itched to put it back on but she wanted to know what had riled up the villagers so much.

“Your appearance. It bears a striking resemblance to Seline’s sister.” The man said.

“She died in a raid over 50 years ago. That’s when Seline lost the eye, too.” He added when Avira remained silent.

Avira kept her peace, looking at the old woman walking towards the church. Now she wished she had kept her helmet on.

“Split, stay here and keep trying the radio.” Avira said and turned towards the exit.

“Wait.”

The old man stepped up next to her. “If the sentries question you again, tell them you have Refard’s permission. That should give you the run of the town, should you need it.”

She thanked the man and left the building. The sun was dipping lower, angling towards evening. The evening light through the scattered clouds cast a pattern of shadow on the front façade of the church and the stained-glass window. Pushing open the doors, Avira found the old woman, Seline, sitting on one of the pews.

The light through the window cast a stunning scene against the far wall, the Traveller standing with humanity against the Darkness and the Collapse. From what Split remembered, and had told Avira, it had not been like that, but she saw no reason to distress the villagers further.

Avira walked up the aisle in silence and sat down next to Seline. The woman reacted slightly at her presence but said nothing. They sat together like that for a long moment in silence.

“Mister Refard told me what happened. I’m sorry.” Avira said to break the silence. She did not know why she had followed the old woman, but it felt like the right thing to do.

Seline took her time to respond, so long that Avira had made to rise from her seat by the time she spoke. “It wasn’t your fault, dear, not to worry.”

Looking over, Avira could see that Seline was looking at her, not at the ground or the pews in front. “Besides, it was a long time ago, now. I was just startled, is all.”

“If I had known, I would have kept my helmet on.” Avira said.

Seline examined her face again, her old eyes scanning Avira’s face. “Is it true, what they say happens to,” A pause, “new Guardians?”

“They say many things about new Guardians.” Avira replied. She wished Split had come with, her Ghost knew these intricacies far better than she.

Again, Seline could not look at Avira, though she did not avert her gaze as far this time. “They say you have no memory of your life before.”

“That is true. A very few Guardians regain some memories, though I have only ever met one myself.” Avira thought of the infamous Hunter Vanguard. Somehow, she could not imagine Cayde-6 in the quiet little town of Kulmbach.

The old woman sighed and rose from the pew. “Thank you for coming, Guardian. I should get back to my work.”

“The name’s Avira.” She reached out to take Seline’s hand.

Seline took it with a slight smile while looking her in the eye.


	3. Far from the City

“No dice. It’s still full of static.” Split said as she returned to the saloon. The radio-operator and the man called Refard were the only ones left alongside Split.

“That leaves our scouts alone out there.” Refard said with a grimace.

“Can they manage that?” Avira asked, trying not to sound condescending, and feeling like she failed.

Refard ran a hand through his hair. Greying at the temples and balding. “I made sure to send people I would trust with the job, but that assumed radio contact. As it stands, I would not decry being worried.”

“What were they looking for?” Split asked. Avira was plenty content to sit back and listen.

Refard walked to the map. “Alongside the trouble with Rallas, we have had reports from hunters over the last few weeks of weird trails and animals killed with weapons we couldn’t recognise.”

Split interjected. “And analysis equipment can’t recognise it either?” Refard shook his head, then continued.

“We sent them to scout deeper towards where the trails were concentrated. We were going to ask the City for a Guardian depending on what we found, but we wanted to be sure.” An area was indicated on the map, already sketched out with a red pen.

Split hovered over the map, his scanner flying back and forth. After a moment he turned to Avira. “We’d better check this out.”

A holographic map was overlaid onto the table. A broad red line showed where they had followed the Fallen. It did not overlap with Kulmbach’s search area, but it was close. 

On the horizon, the sun had fallen below the horizon, casting the forest in the fading light of dusk. Shadows grew long and eerie, and Avira felt observed from the moment Kulmbach was lost among the trees behind her. It was a feeling she had grown used to over the decades.

With the line to the City out, Split could not transmat her Sparrow, so Avira was forced to walk. Refard had given them directions to a recent track-sighting, so the Hunter could gain a better picture of what she was looking for. He had also given her a trio of pictures of the scouts he had sent out.

When she found them, the tracks gave much-desired illumination on her new quarry. A pair of humanoid feet with four claws on the front and a single on the back end. A larger print with similar characteristics confirmed her suspicion.

“Hive.” Split said.

Avira grunted in agreement. “Acolytes and Knights, at the very least.”

“Hive have not been sighted outside the Cosmodrome since the Dark Ages.” Split said.

“Of all the times for the radio to break.” Avira grumbled.

After taking some photos and attempting the radio again, with no luck, the pair resumed the trek. Activity was heaviest around the river, but the woodland was too sparse for comfort. Avira did not believe this would be a small group, and if she were handling it alone, she needed every advantage. At the perimeter of the marked zone, Split phased out, taking shelter within his Guardian. Of all the opponents faced by the City, the Hive had the most experience with removing Ghosts from their partners.

Some 15 minutes after crossing the boundary, Avira spotted a patrol between the trees further up her path. She ducked behind a trunk and gripped her rifle before peeking round the side. Three Acolytes walked in a line alongside a larger Knight. Scattered around them, like a pack of bloodhounds at the ready, was a pack of Thralls. They shambled around in a wild disorder, though they never strayed far from the Knight at the centre of the patrol. Keeping her breath quiet, Avira let them pass. They would not be patrolling if there was nothing to protect, and they were not heading in the direction of the town, either.

A little further and Avira found the first signs of the camp. A building like a small tower had been constructed, or placed, in a clearing. It appeared unoccupied, so she ventured closer. The tower itself had nothing of special interest; the entrance was closed and locked with runes, and there were no windows.

“Normally the Hive just repurpose existing structures or use caves.” Split said in her mind.

“Their own architecture is rare.” Avira confirmed.

Split apparated and floated forward. The scanner-light played over the structure for a moment. “Whatever magic they used to mask their weapon signatures, these structures are using the same process. These Hive took down that Fallen skiff from earlier.” The Ghost said.

“They must want something to remain hidden or undisturbed.” Avira mumbled. A rumble in the sky made her look to the side.

While Split examined the runes on the door, Avira spotted a Tomb-Ship emerging from warp further into the forest.

“Split, could the Hive be responsible for the radio blackout?” Avira asked.

Avira recognised the spinning-shell look of her Ghost thinking. “It’s possible, but the Tower mentioned a storm moving in that might cause some interference. It is more feasible that the storm was bigger than they feared.”

At the site where the ship stayed put, they found the Hive camp. A wide swathe of forest had been cleared; their charred stumps were still visible at the edges. Here there were more structures, but not as many as she had expected. 4 of the tower-like structures were aligned around a central arch and an expansive circle had been cut into the soil of the forest floor with a green fire. No roads had been cleared, though the Hive must have been here a few weeks at least; paths had been worn through the vegetation. At the far end of the clearing the ground disappeared, dropping off into a cliff. Avira recalled from the map that the crevasse below should contain one of the tributaries that flowed into the river that carried through Kulmbach.

“Recognise anything?” Avira mumbled. She was peering out through a gap between two fallen trees. The Hive had increased patrols this close to their camp, but Avira felt confident she could get in without being detected. She had also solved another mystery though the town would not like her findings; At one point along the base of central arched construction, she spied a pile of bodies. Through the scope of her rifle they were distinctly human, not Fallen or Hive. The scouts from Kulmbach had found the Hive camp before she had and had paid the price.

“It must be a ritual of some sort, but to what purpose, I can’t say from here. If you can get me close to the ritual circle, I can investigate further.” Split said.

Closer to the circle, there were many more patrols like the one further out. Clusters of Thralls ranged around the site, free from any tethers, acting like ghoulish guard-dogs. Avira manipulated the Light around herself to conceal her essence from them, then snuck into the camp, darting from spot to spot. Night had fallen by now, and the entire site was cast in darkness. The Hive was not a race that lived in the light to begin with, but there were still limits to their perception.

Eventually Avira laid a hand on the bone-like material that provided the foundation for the massive arch at the centre of the arch. Split materialised at her wrist and floated across the distance, the light of his scanner playing across the pitted surface. Avira’s hand came away from the material sticky with a rust-red liquid.

At every pass of the scanner-light, a chill ran across Avira’s spine. It was as Split had said. The Hive’s meagre presence on Earth was limited to the Cosmodrome far to the east in Asia. The City had enough trouble with the Hive on the Moon, they did not need a second front.

“Found anything?” Avira mumbled to Split. The Hunter expected the screech of a Thrall or Acolyte at any moment.

“Just a moment.” Split replied and increased the speed of the scanner.

Beside Avira, as the scanner panned to the right, it illuminated the harsh face of a Thrall. Avira swore and drew her knife, burying it to the hilt in the guard-creature’s face. One of its packmates turned in place at the sound. Avira pulled the knife out and threw it and the second Thrall crumbled to the ground. She could hear the shuffling of a third, but before she could retrieve her knife or raise her sidearm, a piercing scream sounded from around the corner of the foundation, followed by more screams around the camp. The gig was well and truly up.

“We’re leaving!” Avira shouted and stood up, stowing her sidearm in favour of her rifle. Her knife was back in its arm-sheath, her eyes scanning the multitude of threats descending on the pair.

Split did not return to her side. “Just a second.”

Flipping the safety off her rifle, Avira figured she would have to buy that second. A trio of Acolytes emerged around one of the outer structures, their shredder-weapons firing at full blast, covering Avira’s position in their purple blasts. When they eased up after a moment, Avira rolled over her cover and squeezed the rifle’s trigger three times. Her rifle roared in response and the Acolytes tumbled to the ground. A pack of Thralls came in from the right, Split between them and her. She lowered the rifle and raised her sidearm in a smooth motion, the Thralls bursting into green fire as she cut through them with her pistol. The last of them tumbled to the ground, not even having covered the distance to the small Ghost.

A burst of pale light and screaming in the air was all the warning Avira got before 3 boomer-shots landed next to her and sent her flying to the side to hit the side of the arch-foundation. As she opened her eyes, gasping for breath, she could see Split zipping down to her side and vanishing.

“Go.” He said. It was all she needed to hear.

Avira jumped to her feet and ran, angling away from the approaching Knights and sticking close to the bone-material wall of the central structure. A Thrall leapt from the wall and tried to bring her down but Avira caught by the neck and slammed it into the soil before putting a round from her pistol in its skull, rolling away and towards a small piece of cover before a barrage of shredder-fire hit the Thrall she had left behind. She came around the other side of the cover, her rifle removing 3 Acolytes before they could return fire. Another boomer-shot screamed past her modest cover, spraying dirt and gravel against her helmet and armour. She made sure to change her position before another salvo could land.

The patrols she had avoided coming in were converging on the camp now, slowly cutting off escape routes. If she had backup, now would be a perfect time to strike while their attention was elsewhere. Alas, she was here alone. She found it likely that the Hive had planned this operation with the storm in mind.

These deliberations were cut off when a pair of Thralls turned the corner in front of and screeched. Avira wove between their swings and pulled up her sidearm, shooting one Thrall in the chest before turning towards the other. A faint sound of moving air alerted her to the cleaver-armed Knight charging from behind her, giving her just enough time to turn away from the attack, the sword catching one of her shoulder-guards. Hissing at the pain, Avira raised her pistol towards the Knight’s head, only for the Thrall to leap at her hand and wrestle her for the gun. She could not imagine it would be able to use it, but it must have some idea of its importance.

Seizing the opportunity, the Knight took its sword in a double-handed grip and swung at Avira’s mid-section, intending to part her in two. With a grunt and a knee to the stomach, Avira lifted the Thrall and put it in the sword’s path. It screeched as it swung through the air, the sound turning shriller when the blade cut through its flesh and lodged in its spine. With a grunt, the Knight pulled the sword away, the Thrall crumbling to the ground, only to see the barrel of Avira’s rifle. The Knight toppled backwards, dead, after two squeezes of the trigger.

There was a moment of pause on the battlefield. Avira could hear shuffling around the clearing as the Hive soldiers moved to surround her and cut off the remaining routes out.

“What did you find?” Avira asked while reloading her weapons, ears listening for any Hive trying to sneak up on her.

“Lots of encrypted files, though I think I recognise the encryption. Once we’re out of here, I can discern what’s inside.” Split replied. When he was immaterial, it sounded like someone whispering in her ear.

“Once we’re out of here.” Avira repeated to herself. She had been too gung-ho, and the Hive had her surrounded. Maybe if she pushed at one side and extended her Light, she could break the encirclement, but even a small mistake and they would be on her.

A chorus of screams interrupted Avira’s deliberation, and she was forced out of her slight cover. Over a dozen Thralls were flanking her or clambering over the central structure and towards her. Even as she ran out, Acolytes arranged around the area opened up, their shredders throwing up a screen of dirt and broken chitin from the ground. Avira ran for all she was worth, ducking and weaving between Thrall claws and small-arms fire. She fired her pistol at the Thralls as she ran, but her focus was elsewhere, and most of the shots went wide or hit armoured plates. Avira skidded to a stop and pivoted to avoid another barrage of shredder fire, to be met by a Thrall throwing itself at her, Avira only just managing to turn the body-slam aside. They were herding her. If they intended to kill, it would be a show.

“Comms chatter.” Split said. “Not ours.” He added after a moment.

Avira did not reply. The Knights had joined the Acolytes in the firing line, their large weapons held at the ready. The Thralls stood around her in a semi-circle like a pack of bloodthirsty dogs. Even though she took the moment to reload her pistol, she chose not to shoot, wondering instead what their aim was. Clearly, she was close to it since they had stopped shooting.

“Avira, Tomb-ship above.”

The ship had its weapons trained at her, but they also withheld their fire. One of the trans-ports flashed and a portal opened above the central structure. A Hive-creature stepped through, floating above the ground, and dressed in a long, dirty robe. The Wizard floated down at a serene pace, rubbing its gangly hands together with some twisted form of glee.

Avira gripped her pistol but made no move to fire. All the Hive in the clearing were still looking at her. When the Wizard made a move, they might look to it, out of adoration or fear. Then she could strike.

“Avira, something’s wrong.” Split said. He sounded weird, almost distant.

“Be more specific.” She mumbled under her breath. The situation was bad enough already without vague premonitions.

“The Light, it’s-“ Split cut off.

“Split?” No response. Avira looked to the Wizard. Damned creature must be doing something, something she had not noticed. She had to get out. She made to raise her pistol, to aim at the Wizard’s head, then pushed at her Light to summoning the power within.

But nothing happened. She felt a shockwave hit and pass through her, leaving her dazed. Her movements and thoughts seemed slow, sluggish. Her sight became blurry and unfocused. Luckily, whatever had just happened distracted the Hive too; they stopped in place and turned to look to the southeast, away from her.

She needed to escape, but the routes to the forest were blocked by Hive. There was just one route.

“Split?” She whispered. No reply. In her daze, she scanned the ground, wondering if her Ghost had fallen out of her pocket. Behind her she could hear shuffling and screeching as the Hive refocused on her, but they were too late.

In her dazed state, she could see one way out. She had no time to find Split and simply hoped her Ghost was still with her. Avira entrusted herself to the Light and tumbled over the edge of the cliff.


	4. The Red Wake

_The woman dreamed. She was in a dark space. In that way that dreams bestow knowledge of where there can be no doubt, the woman knew she was dead. Then, in the next breath she was not alone. There was another being in the space with her. It was herself. Identical, but different. She felt she had a million things to say to this other woman. Her whole life to tell of. But there was no time, no way. Already they were being removed from each other. As a causal prison formed around the woman, she had time to say one word._

“Avira.”

Avira opened her eyes slowly, half from not knowing what to expect. The other was that every inch of her ached terribly. For a moment she thought she was outdoors, but the feeling of the bed beneath her told her otherwise. The roof above her was simply painted sky-blue. A sheet covered her body, and she could feel it touching her skin. A quick glance to her left showed her helmet, a nasty dent on one of the temples, standing on the nightstand. The rest of her armour was nowhere to be seen. Avira made to remove the sheet and stand up when her arm came into view. Her upper arm was bruised nearly blue, and the forearm was bandaged, a rust-red blemish visible on the outer covering.

Avira tried her best to control her breathing as she pulled the sheets aside to reveal herself. She was naked beneath the sheets, though she was still plenty covered. Bandages covered much of her thighs and torso and every movement up from lying on her back sent a spike of pain through her whole body.

She heard the noise of a door open then a clatter of breaking porcelain. A gasp. The burst of noise hurt Avira’s ears.

“Blessed Light, you’re alive.” Seline said. The old woman was stood by the door, her hands over her mouth. A mess of broken porcelain lay at her feet, the shards of the teapot still dripping liquid.

Avira wanted to reply but a fresh spike of pain ate the words. Seline walked around the mass of shards on the floor and hurried to her side to take Avira’s hand in her own. Seline’s hands were warm and soft.

“Can you remember me?” Seline said while looking in Avira’s eyes.

“Yes, Miss Seline.” Avira said.

“Guardians only lose their memories upon their first death. They remember everything that happens after, for good or ill.” A familiar voice said. Split floated into view, albeit much slower than she was used to. Avira’s heart sank when she saw her depleted Ghost, how even his shell seemed to sag away from the core. He could clearly still float but doing much else seemed beyond him.

“Besides, you didn’t die this time.” Split said and settled down in Avira’s hand.

Seline put the sheet back over Avira’s body. “We found you caught in one of our traps in the river. We would never have known you were there if not for your little friend here.” She said.

Avira wanted to ask why Split had not just healed, with his help she had recovered from far worse, but then she remembered the feeling at the top of the cliff. At the memory, she broke out in sweat and her mouth felt clammy and hard to use.

Seline must have sensed her distress, because the old woman grabbed her free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. It hurt a little squeezing back, but Avira did not show it.

“There have been some developments,” Split said, “But you need to rest first.”

Avira woke again the following day, her head groggy from pain and from-

Dreams? Avira had seen many things since awakening, but dreams had eluded her. Split on occasion would tell her of dreams or visions he saw, but she only had his words to go on. Lying back in bed, she did her best to recall the contents of the dream, but nothing came. She was sure she had, would swear by it, but the specifics were lost.

“Morning dear.”

Seline was sat in a chair at her side, calmly watching her, though when Avira looked her in the eye, the old woman looked away, her eyes downcast.

“How long was I out?” Avira asked and moved to put her elbows under her. It was painful, but less so than last time.

“A day and a bit. Now lie down and I’ll call your little friend, he told me to bring him first thing.” Seline said and rose from her chair, putting a small leather-bound book on the nightstand. The old woman had barely taken two steps away from the bed when Split floated round the corner. Avira felt a little better than she had the day before, but her Ghost seemed much the same. The shell around his core was still, and it took him a long, awkward moment before he could float down to rest on her palm.

“Good, you’re awake, I’m so glad I could sense it still,” Split said at a slow pace. He sounded strained. “How are you feeling?”

Avira scooted back in the bed a little, grimacing through the pain. Once she was settled against the wall and the pillow, it hurt less, and she did not have to strain her neck. “I’ve been better, I’ve been worse.”

Split looked down for a moment. He always did that when he was choosing his words. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“Good news first.” Avira said. She could use some.

“The radio static has mostly cleared. It’s still present but there’s radio contact now.” Split made a noise like a sigh. “That’s about it for the good news.”

Avira simply waited for him to continue.

“The City was attacked 2 days ago. The Red Legion, a Cabal regiment, attacked the City during an electrical storm that caused the static. Reports are uncertain and scattered, but they did something.”

Split hovered a little, the movements of his ‘eye’ showing his agitation. “They did something to the Traveller, something that blocked the Light. It happened to all Guardians at the same time, at least everyone that’s been in contact.”

“The City has fallen.” Split finished.

Avira slid back down into the bed and stared at the ceiling. “The City was attacked, and we weren’t there.”

“There was no way we could have known.” Split said. “And even if we had known, the transmat was down, our ship was out of reach.”

Avira was quiet for a long time. Split floated back down to her hand and waited. Seline, for her part, waited too. Out of the corner of her eye, Avira noticed that the old woman could look at her face again now.

“Any word from the Vanguard?” Avira said.

Split replayed a recording. Commander Zavala reported the City lost, for all Guardians to stay away until further orders. Clearly, he intended to say more, but grunts and gunfire took up the rest of the broadcast. “The radio waves are full of requests for aid, reports, lots of noise.”

Avira nodded with the information. She had hoped for word from Cayde-6 or Ikora too, but if the City truly had fallen, who was to say the Vanguard was even still alive. Could Avira even help them in any way?

A twinge in her leg caused another burst of pain. The pain brought her mind back to falling from the cliff that had caused these injuries, the camp full of Hive building some strange structure.

“Split,” Avira said and rose back up, ignoring the protests of her body, “What information did you get from that Hive structure?”

Split turned to look at her. “Pardon?”

Avira reached out and patted Split’s shell. She would have slapped him playfully, but she was already plenty sore. “The Hive camp we nearly died scouting. You said the data was encrypted.”

Split’s eye lit up, though he remained sitting in her palm. “What with everything that’s happened since, I haven’t paid it a second’s thought.” The Ghost turned his eye downwards. Avira could practically hear the gears turning in Split’s mind.

Split turned in her hand to look upwards, displaying a series of holograms depicting Hive symbols and scrambled images. “They must be lazy or arrogant, the encryption is almost identical to the stuff we catch from the Hellmouth.”

“Can you decrypt it?”

The images vanished and Split hovered up from Avira’s hand, though it clearly strained him to do so. “By the Traveller, I hope you did not think I couldn’t.” The tone was both affronted and slightly desperate at the same time.

Avira reached up and held him, taking the strain off. It still hurt her to see her friend so withered. “I know you can. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

Still holding the little Ghost, Avira turned to the old woman still in the chair beside her bed. She had a curious expression on her face that Avira found difficult to read. “Miss Seline, could I ask you to gather the town? I have some things everyone should hear.”

“They might not like it.” Seline said and rose from her seat. The book she had been reading through remained on the nightstand.

“Nevertheless, they need to know.” Avira said and made sure to look Seline in the eye. The old woman returned the gesture without wavering. As Seline left the room and Split worked his magic, Avira closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

A couple of hours passed. It was midday by the time Avira climbed out of her sickbed. Seline kept close by and guided her through the house. At the old woman’s own insistence, Avira had been put in Seline’s house while she recovered. Avira felt like a trespasser as she passed by elements of the woman’s long life, pictures, and other memorabilia. Accepting a bite of food as she arrived at the kitchen, Avira stepped out of the wide, open doors into the yard to wait. Dawn was long past, but the sun still held hints of the red dawn. It pained Avira to think of what must be happening in the Last City, but she had her own tasks here. She would have to trust her fellow Guardians.

The sun did not favour the stained-glass window in the church with a display. Avira stood at the podium with a cane that Seline had handed to her. She chuckled inwardly when she imagined what her fellow Hunters, Cayde-6 most of all, would think of a Guardian using a cane.

Split rested on the podium in front of her, eye out towards the crowd. Avira had also brought her helmet, though she did not intend to put it on. It rested on the podium next to Split, so that people could recognise her. After all, the only ones to have seen her face were the people in the radio-room and whoever had helped tend her after the fall from the cliff. She was still in pain, but she could stand. That would have to do for now.

One of the men that had met her at the wall a few days prior closed the doors to the church, signalled her, and sat down. No signal had been discussed, but Avira knew one when she saw one.

Avira looked over the crowd, took a deep breath, and began.

“Citizens of Kulmbach. I will not beat around the bush or try and hoodwink you.”

“Our situation is not good. There will be no reinforcements from the City, if anything it is quite likely we should reinforce them.”

Avira held up a fist. If only the crowd could feel the concentration she was putting out in trying to summon her Light, but it was to no avail. “I do not know what happened in the Last City, but the Light no longer flows through me. I am a Guardian by title only.”

She prodded Split, and the Ghost threw up the largest displays he could, nearly matching the intensity of the midday sun streaming through the windows. Images and video of their scouting mission to the Hive base ran in a cycle. Avira held her silence for a moment to let the villagers take it in. She had decided to omit the images of the dead scouts, for there was no reason to morbidly shock them.

“This is the reason for the disturbances in your forest of late, and the tracks found by your scouts. I am sorry to say I did not find them before the Hive did.” Still photos of Acolytes, Thralls and Knights flashed across the display.

“They are constructing a base in your forest, a foothold in the EDZ. Based on the data we recovered, we believe they intend to enact a ritual to bring an army here to Earth.” Avira said, Split adding the data they had found in the logs.

Before, there had been whispers amongst the villagers, but at the mention of an army, there were shouts and many stood up, shouting at Avira or each other.

“Please listen!” Avira shouted, only for the detractors to shout louder, fingers being pointed in every direction.

A cane knocked loudly on wood, and some of the shouts paused. Another, and silence fell in the church.

“Are you a gaggle of unruly children? Be silent and listen, she has more to say.” Seline said, the head of her cane on the back of the pew in front of her. One by one, the villagers sat down, some with red faces, but none said a word.

Seline turned back towards Avira. “Please continue, dear.”

“Thank you, Seline,” Avira said with a smile, “The Hive are powerful, and will only become more fortified. And with the City and the Guardians crippled, it will be up to us to stop them. It will not be easy, but it is possible.” She had to believe her own words.

Split displayed the image of a burning Hive encampment. It was somewhat deceitful, since the picture was years old and the work of a fireteam of seasoned Guardians, but Avira did not bring that up.

“There is still time. I know not how long we have, but we can still stop them. Even if I do not have my powers, I have my body and my skills.”

“I intend to use all I have against them. I will gladly accept help; be they volunteers or just supplies.” Avira finished and stepped back from the podium, Split closing the display. With a whispered ‘thank you’, she put him on her shoulder where she had fashioned a simple holster for him. The villagers were talking amongst themselves, some glancing at Avira as she stepped down from the podium. 3 people stepped forward to meet her: Bachmann from the wall, and Refard and Seline. Seline said nothing, simply smiled.

“You can count on my help, Guardian. We’ll kick those ugly sons out of our woods.” Bachmann said and nodded.

“I can’t fight, but you’ll have all the supplies I can get you. And I’m sure I can talk over some of the others.” Refard said.

“Thank you, both of you,” Avira said, then looked to Bachmann, “My name is Avira, I’m barely a Guardian right now.”

“Flashing lights does not a Guardian make,” Bachmann said, “it’s in the attitude, and you’ve got that in spades, kid.” The bald man laughed.

“Thank you, Bachmann, I hope that’s true.” Avira did not mention that she was probably older than him; she had been a Guardian for half a century.

Avira turned to Refard. “Can I ask you to handle folk that want to join? I need a lie-down.” She said, indicating the bandages that still covered parts of her. Refard nodded and thanked her.

Exhausted from the speech and still recovering from her injuries, Avira returned to Seline’s house to rest. She had intended on just a nap, to be out before sundown to see the townsfolk, but before long she was fast asleep.

She was dreaming again. It felt like a memory, but Avira had no recollection of any of these people. She could sense Split there, but she never saw him. A group of kids were having a picnic, and she was seeing it first-hand, like watching someone else’s home-footage. She could see, but she could not act. As the edges of the dream began to fray and fall apart, giving way to the waking world, one of the kids, a young girl, looked Avira in the eye. The young girl’s face clouded over and began to age rapidly, seconds adding years to her face. The last thing she saw before she woke was Seline’s aged face on the young girl’s shoulders.

Split was sat on the nightstand beside Avira’s bed when she woke. “There’s been a few volunteers while you slept. They wanted to meet you, you know. You’re famous.”

“How many?” Avira said and swung out of bed, feeling much better. Split still had some restorative power left, but where he could normally bring her back from complete disintegration in a matter of minutes, it had taken him most of a week to heal the injuries from her fall. Actual death would be a one-way ticket in their current condition.

“Five signed on, so with Bachmann and you, we’re at seven strong.”

“Two fireteams and a bit.” Avira mumbled with a chuckle. She remembered having to leave someone behind for a fireteam, then the painful realisation that some of those people might not be alive anymore.

“What do we have for weapons?” She continued, forcing back the memories. When the Light returned, she would find her colleagues again. Alive or dead.

“Each brought their own, but it’s motley collection. A variety of medium range battle-rifles. One hunting rifle. A few shotguns, mostly for hunting. Refard is hustling for more gear from the village.”

“Could be worse,” Avira said and walked to the table with her weapons, “Though I imagine ammo will be a problem before long.”

Split did not comment.

Avira spent the next day examining her recruits, testing their marksmanship and ability to follow orders. A Hunter giving orders was a strange thing, but these were strange times. She did her best with the time allotted to teach them how to stay hidden and cover in the forest. The Hive would outnumber them, and outgun them, so they would have to avoid direct confrontations. Fighting a Knight with the weapons they had would be a scary prospect, but it was inevitable. As night began to fall and the recruits went home, Avira went into the forest to scout. Enemy forces, placements, patrols. These were the things she wanted to know, to see if they had changed. 

By the time she returned within sight of Kulmbach, the horizon to the east was reddening with colour.

Split was sat in the holster on her shoulder. “It’s been like that every morning since we arrived here,” He paused for a moment, “Since the City was attacked.”

Avira tried to put the implications out of her mind and walked towards the town. A sentry hailed her at the wall, letting her pass after looking at her through his searchlight. Seline’s house was in the inner ring of houses in the town, and Avira always found that she had no trouble finding the right path to the house, no matter where in town she was. More than once she felt a curious sensation when she rounded a corner to see a cluster of houses or the sight of the central church from a new angle. It was only when Avira stood on Seline’s doorstep that she recognised the sensation; Déjà-vu.

The light in the entryway was on, as was the kitchen. Avira took off her boots, muddy from the night-time forest, and went into the kitchen. She figured Seline had forgotten to turn the lights off when she went to bed, but on the kitchen table stood a thermos, a piece of bread and a bowl, the words _Eat up_ written on a note attached to the thermos.

Avira was tired and hungry, sensations she had rarely experienced before she lost her Light. The soup inside the thermos was still warm but not scalding. Avira sat watching the dawn through the kitchen window, taking her time with the food.

“You’re back late.” Seline said. The old woman had come down the stairs, a shawl over her shoulders.

“You’re up early.” Avira said and took another bowl from the cupboard and filled it with the last of the soup.

“Thank you, dear, but I’m not hungry. I had plenty, you eat up.” The old woman said and sat at the table. The two sat in silence as Avira finished the last of the soup, cleaning the bowl with the bread. When she stood up and stretched, she felt every mile she had walked that night.

“You look exhausted, dear.” Seline said. Avira just nodded.

“You go to bed; I’ll be right up. There’s something I want to show you.” Seline said then rose from her seat and left the kitchen. 

Avira had just picked her pistol apart for maintenance when Seline knocked and entered. In her hands was the leather-covered book she had been reading when Avira had awoken for the second time after her fall.

“You remember hearing about my sister Gabriela? This is something of hers that I’ve kept.” Seline said and put it on the nightstand.

Avira did not quite see why Seline felt she needed to see it, but she put down the component she had been cleaning and flipped the book open. Pictures from a variety of sources had been glued onto the blank pages, sometimes replicated with a drawing with a pencil. Initially crude, over the course of the picture-book they increased in quality. The last ones were excellent. The pictures were of places around the solar system, though mostly Earth. With some surprise, Avira realised she recognised every single one, and not just from intelligence reports or hearsay. She had been there during her work as a Guardian.

“What is this?” She asked, turning to Seline. The old woman had been standing there in silence while Avira flipped through the book.

“My sister and I have lived in Kulmbach our entire lives. The furthest we ever went from the walls was a couple days travel by foot,” Seline indicated the book, ”My sister desperately wanted to travel, but we had no means, so she put together a list of places she wanted to see if she ever got the opportunity.”

Avira looked at the first page again. A picture of the Last City, taken from some vantage-point up on the Wall. It was a good picture, probably taken by a professional. She vividly remembered seeing this viewpoint herself, touring the Wall when she first arrived at the City following her awakening.

“Do Guardians travel much?” Seline asked. She had sat down in the bedside chair while Avira had flipped through the book.

“Some of us do. My faction, the Hunters, specialise in ranging out from the City on missions.” Avira said and leafed through a few pages. At every turn of the page, she saw again a sight she had seen experience during her travels as a Guardian, accompanied by a growing sensation of dizziness.

She pointed out the picture on a page to Seline. An arcology stood defiant against the methane ocean below, the rim of the photographer ship visible along the bottom.

“I came here on a patrol.”

Next, a promotional image of Clovis Bray’s facilities on Mars. A rough image of a spaceship was stencilled underneath it. Gabriela had misspelled Bray as Brai.

“A group of Fallen made off with some tech, we chased them here. The facility is mostly intact, last I was there.”

Seline put her hand on Avira’s as the Guardian flipped to the next page. “Keep the book.”

“But you said it’s your sisters, you’ve kept it all this time.” Their brief talk in the empty church flashed through Avira’s mind.

“I want you to have it, Avira.” Seline said, a slight pause before the name.

The sun had risen outside, and Seline left to start her day.

“I did not want to bring it up while she was here,” Split said slowly, “But we have been in this region before.”

“Yes.” Was all Avira said.

“It’s where I found you, all those years ago.” Split said and looked at Avira.

For her part, Avira leafed through the small book, reliving memories, both those vivid and those that felt like from another lifetime, until sleep took her.

The following four days were spent training the volunteers and forging them into a team. Their teamwork was clumsy and their marksmanship unremarkable, but it would have to do. If the Hive completed their ritual, even a full Fireteam of Guardians would be unable to stop them. She did not mention this to Bachmann and the others.

It was the night of the second day. The group, dubbed the Hunters by the villagers, had ranged out from the village on their first patrol, Avira in the lead to watch for the Hive’s own patrols. Each of the Hunters was armed and armoured to the best of their ability and raring to fight, Avira apprehensive about their ability to fight without the Light to empower their weapons. It was not long before Avira dove to the ground and signalled for the others to follow suit. Stalking along the clearing up ahead was a Hive patrol, much like the first one she had discovered after she had arrived. She was not overly worried about the trio of Acolytes, but the Thralls would unnerve the volunteers and the Knight’s armour would be a tough nut to crack with their measly weapons. She could not draw on her Light to mask her presence, so she was wary of getting closer. She could attempt to guide the others past, but even if they got past, which she thought unlikely, that would only put an enemy at their backs should they fall into a fight later in their patrol. It was taking them out or call it for the evening.

Avira turned and walked back to the others, mindful of where she was placing her feet. Gesturing with her hands, she brought everyone together. She spoke as quietly as she could, and even then, every word grated in her ears.

“There’s a patrol up ahead, we have to take it out.” Avira said, unclasping and checking the rifle on her chest. She had examined it thoroughly since the fall, but she had not fired it since. Same with her pistol. The group paled visibly at the prospect of combat. Bachmann seemed the least affected, though Avira was pleased to see that his expression was still serious.

“I’ll point out where you wait and what to target, so just stay ready. I’ll see if I can’t cull their numbers before we go. If I am spotted, you’ll know. If it happens, retreat to the village. They aren’t yet numerous enough to assault it without too many casualties.”

Keeping her knife flat against the forearm to conceal the sheen, Avira ducked into the forest brush towards the patrol. The Thralls were the biggest immediate problem; in situations like this they were the bloodhounds of the Hive. If the caught her scent, they would alert everyone within a mile. Split used his display to show where she had last seen them and their probable direction, allowing her to keep downwind. Her heartbeat was uncomfortably loud in her chest as she stalked along the forest floor, ever mindful of every step.

After what felt like an eternity, Avira heard footsteps up ahead. Nudging a branch aside, she could see one of the Thralls standing on the forest floor a few metres from her. She could not see any of the others from the patrol. It was alone. Looking about, she considered how best to approach the creature when she heard and felt the wind shifting. The Thrall stopped in its tracks and sniffed at the air. It would discover her presence any moment now.

Avira shoved the brush aside and stepped forward, throwing her knife with her free hand. It tumbled end over end, the blade lodging itself in the Thrall’s throat. It stumbled and wheezed and pawed at the knife with its claws but could not get a strong grip. Avira was on it before it could try again, punching it and kicking its legs out and driving it to the ground, gripping the knife and forcing the blade to the side and out. The Thrall clawed at her, but her suit caught the attack. She did not give it time to strike again, burying the knife to the hilt in the roof of its open mouth as it tried to scream again. The scream spluttered and faded before it ever began. Even as the Thrall ceased to struggle, its throat bulged and began to split as a fat, pale worm forced its way out of the dying body. Seeing the worms evacuate their hosts always unnerved Avira, but after near five decades of fighting Hive, she was no stranger to it. She ended its life with her knife, then dragged the dead Thrall into the brush.

In the dark under the brush, Split displayed a tally of the patrol. One of the Thrall counters winked out. The wind was still going in the direction of the patrol, so Avira moved away from her hiding spot, keeping a watchful eye out. One of the other Thralls walked out from the wood line, head close to the ground as it smelled for its fellow. Keeping as low to the ground as she could, Avira snuck closer while the Thrall was focused on the brush. She could hear the other Hive in the patrol in the forest around her, hoping the volunteers were keeping enough distance to not be sniffed out. Just as the Thrall bent into the brush, Avira struck. She leapt on its back and forced it to the ground, onto the blade of her knife. It only managed a surprised squeal before the blade severed its wind and voice. The patrol would catch on quickly now that there were two members missing, lowly Thralls or not. They might not know the specifics, but they would know something was going on. Doubling back on her trail, Avira made her way back to where she had left the volunteers. They were all there, lying on their stomachs beneath the brush, clutching their various weapons. She talked to them in hushed tones, her ears peaked for noises of approaching Hive. Finished, she set back for the remainders of the patrol.

The last two Thralls were much like the previous one, sniffing at the air around the brush. The Acolytes stood spread out behind them, their trio of eyes scanning the forest. Avira could not see the Knight anywhere. Any moment now the Thralls would discover their dead fellows, though she doubted that the Acolytes would be here if everything was proceeding as they expected. She watched with growing trepidation as the Thralls neared the bush, she herself waiting for the volunteers.

She felt a hand on her back then two pats. Bachmann’s signal. Avira reached back and patted the hand twice, then set off. Pushing the brush aside, Avira headed on a path that would take her close to the brush the Thralls were investigating. The Hive perked up, heads turned towards the noise she was making, the Acolytes barking commands to the Thralls. Avira slid to a stop, unclasped her rifle and whistled, returning her hand to the grip on her rifle as she rose from the cover of the brush.

Two Thralls closing in, three Acolytes behind. Avira aimed and pulled the trigger and ones of the Thralls stopped its headlong rush, staggering backwards from several bullet impacts to the head. The grey-brown chitin was severely cracked but the creature still stood. Grimacing at the severe difference between before losing her Light and now, Avira fired another burst at the running Thrall and dived back into the brush. She heard a multitude of shouts as the volunteers, Bachmann in the lead, rose from their own hiding spot and fired at the staggered Thrall in unison. A barrage of gunfire hit the creature and downed it before it could shriek. The Acolytes stood divided and unsure whether to fire at the lone attacker or the group, then forced to cover when the gunfire turned on them.

Avira had her own problem; the second burst had barely scratched the Thrall pursuing her and its claws tore through the brush to get to her. She fired again but only one of the bullets hit, glancing off its shoulder and the rest tearing holes in the greenery. A claw grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her closer, the Thrall rearing back to bite. Avira grabbed the claw and put a hand on the side of its face, leveraging its own force to pull it around and put its back to the ground. Before it could react, she pulled her pistol from its holster and pushed the barrel into its mouth, pulling the trigger until the pistol clicked empty.

Avira rose from the Thrall’s corpse and looked behind her. Gunfire was echoing around the woods, both that of her volunteers and the hive Acolytes. The Thralls were gone, but the Knight was still missing. Even if they were holding their own against the Acolytes, the Knight could end it all. Avira reloaded her pistol as she ran. Ahead of her was the cluster of Acolytes firing out from cover with their shredders. Their chitin was pockmarked with bullet impacts and one of them had an eye closed, some liquid oozing from the wound. Her volunteers had done good. She just hoped they were all alive.

She waited until the Acolytes ducked from the gunfire and sprinted through the brush to a large boulder behind their position. If any of them saw her, they gave no notice. Maybe they knew about what had happened to the Light and trusted their Thralls to handle a single fighter. Their loss. When the Acolytes rose out of their cover to fire, Avira rose a moment later. They only noticed her presence when bursts of rifle fire cracked open the heads of one of their number and the dead Acolyte fell over. Another burst shattered the cheek of one of the remaining Acolytes when it turned to face her and fired its shredder. Avira had to dive back under the boulder to avoid the purple projectiles, a shower of rock splinters telling where they had struck instead. She heard another hail of gunfire that was not her own rifle and one of the Acolytes howled. Avira ducked around the side and fired again, hitting the struck Acolyte between the trio of eyes, collapsing it with a gasp. The remaining Acolyte dived behind a tree and began firing wildly, shoots impacting with trees and rocks around Avira and the others. Unable to get a good line of fire, and conscious of the Knight’s absence, Avira called for the others to fire, then drew her knife. When the Acolyte flinched and ducked away from the attack, she kept her body low and sprinted. Her body felt slow and sluggish compared to before, but the Acolyte was occupied and distracted. When it struck out with its shredder to fire, Avira rammed the knife through its elbow joint and twisted with all her strength. The creature howled and reared away, dropping the firearm to the ground. A human would have bled profusely from such a cut, but the unnatural bodies of the Hive had no such thing. It turned to run, only to expose its back to her. With a grab and a savage twist, the Acolyte collapsed on the ground with its head nearly separated at the collar.

The forest went quiet. The gunfire stopped, and so did the shouting of combat and the sounds of animals. Avira stood in the moment, drinking it in. The aftermath of the thrill of combat often left her feeling empty, so she did her best to enjoy that quiet. It was rare.

“We really showed those monsters, didn’t we?” Bachmann said and clapped Avira on the shoulder. The bald man was stood next to her with a big smile on his face. In that moment he reminded Avira of one of her Titan friends.

She gave him a quick smile then looked over his shoulder. “Henrik, I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” Split said to one of the other volunteers. The man was bent over, reaching for the shredder-pistol the Acolyte had been forced to drop.

“Why not?” Henrik said. Avira was not sure if his tone was scared or challenging.

“Hive magic is weird stuff. A Guardian would be fine,” Avira paused, “A Guardian with their Light, at least, but I can’t vouch for a regular human.” That she did not count herself amongst ‘regular humans’ was something she had gotten over a few decades ago, but there it was. Henrik, for his part, spit on the shredder but left it alone.

“This stuff is a lot scarier when I can’t hide away.” Split muttered, quiet enough for just Avira to hear.

Avira tapped Split then turned to the volunteers. All were accounted for and mostly unharmed. One had a bandage across his shoulder. “There should be one Hive left in the patrol. They could strike at any moment, try not to bunch up, their weapon is basically a hand-held mortar.”

Bachmann made a point of walking a few paces away. “We decimated their entire patrol; sure he hasn’t turned tail?”

Avira shook her head. “Not the way the Hive works. They don’t get to the rank of Knight if they’re cowards. Now spread out.”

The volunteers did as she asked as they searched the immediate forest, Avira wondering all the while how hard it could be to find such a big target. Split was scanning as well, though all the foliage in the forest was disrupting the results. Telling Bachmann and the others to keep going, Avira climbed into one of the pine-trees for a higher vantage-point. And there it was.

Hidden behind a large boulder slightly further along the patrol route was the Knight, its glowing green eyes looking on the advancing group of volunteers. Avira could also see its weapon trained on the group.

“Watch out on the right!” Avira called out and, holding on to the trunk as best she could with her legs and one arm, aimed her rifle at the Knight. The creature looked to the source of the shout and grunted, swinging the large weapon around. Avira fired first, the bullets impacting on the shell of the Knight’s weapon a split second before it fired. The impacts changed the angle but only a little, the sickly-green lump of energy screaming through the air to impact on the trunk of a tree next to Avira. She was pelted with splinters and bits of bark from the explosion and could hear the groaning as the tree began to topple. Keeping the rifle secured in one hand, she scrabbled down the trunk of her vantage point even as more energy blasts boomed towards her. The volunteers were firing back but the Knight had cover and armour. They would need to negate one and punch through the other.

Avira scanned the clearing just before she hit the forest floor then made for where she had seen Bachmann.

“Bachmann!” She shouted and slid behind the boulder he was using for cover. The rock shuddered as an energy blast blew a chunk out of it.

“Yes?” His tone was exasperated but not panicking. In that moment, she was glad the sentry had decided to join her crew.

“I need the shotgun. No buts.” She shouted. Another blast soared over their cover, showering the both of them with pebbles and dirt.

“Won’t hear none from me.” Bachmann replied and handed the weapon over, as well as a bandolier of shells. Avira slung the bandolier over her shoulder and clasped the shotgun in place on her chest.

“Stay low and don’t get hit. Shoot when there’s an opportunity but I don’t think our rifles can pierce his armour.” Avira had to shout over the noise of more explosions. When Bachmann made some motion in way of a reply, she waited for the next impact and raced out from the cover, energy blasts soaring after her. In the corner of her eye, she could see Bachmann evacuate the devastated boulder after she left. The Knight remained by its cover, firing at any opportunity the presented itself. Avira hoped that all her volunteers made it through this even as she ran as fast as she could while keeping herself beneath the brush, running until she reached a small cluster of trees where she could stand up. She raised her rifle and looked through the gap between the trees to where the Knight stood. It had its back to her, laughing in its cruel tone while shredding tree after tree with its weapon. She waited for just before it fired again and fired her rifle, aiming at the back of a knee. The rounds penetrated the weak joint into the flesh beneath and the Knight went down on the knee from the recoil of its weapon, the creature looking around the forest for the source of the attack. Avira wasted no time in unclasping the shotgun and leaving her cover, gasping for breath while she crossed the distance. The Knight saw her approach and shouted, bringing up its weapon. The muzzle flared with energy and Avira barely managed to dive aside from the energy blast, the Knight itself pushed to the ground due to its awkward position. Before it could rise, Avira rushed over and pointed the shotgun at its face, not waiting to ask for surrender before firing. The chitin facemask cracked when the slug impacted. Avira pumped the weapon and fired again, breaking the mask in two with a horrible sound. The face underneath was pale and horrible, a worm-tracked scar obscuring most of its features. Avira pumped and fired a third and final time. Ichor splattered over the forest floor and the Knight collapsed, only a single eye remaining from the trio. The orb glowed a sickly green even after its owner’s death.

A few moments after the Knight’s death, Bachmann rounded the corner of the boulder with his rifle ready. He was relieved to find Avira alive and their final opponent dead. The squad returned to Kulmbach in a hurried silence, each scanning the forest for signs of other Hive patrols bearing down on them. Avira handed the shotgun back to Bachmann, but the sentry handed it right back.

“It’s better in your hands, I believe.” He said, did a mock salute with a grin and closed the door to his house.

Avira went to Seline’s house, eyeing the first signs of dawn on the spire of the church. She was used to coming back late. The key to the front door was hidden where Seline had shown her, and Avira was as quiet as could be when she snuck up to her temporary room. 


	5. The Final Pieces

Avira rose a few hours later, hungry, and still tired. In the past, the Light had nourished her body to some extent, and she was still getting used to its demands in the Light’s absence. She found Seline in the kitchen working on some knitting, the object of which the old woman hustled out of sight the moment Avira spoke up.

“I’ll make some coffee, then.” Avira said while Seline moved her work into a different room. The old woman nodded at her then hurried away.

Avira just chuckled to herself and busied herself with the coffee. By the time Seline returned, the mysterious knitting project stored safely away, a cup of dark-brown coffee steamed on the dining table. Avira was eating her way through some heated leftovers from the house supper. She missed the hot-pots and wide cuisine of the City, but Seline’s stews were comfortable. When she got back, she would have to scour the City to find their like.

Hunters were trackers by profession, amplified by the abilities of their Ghosts. Avira was certain she could find Seline’s project if she wished, but the old woman had been kind to her, far more than could be reasonably asked for. If Seline wanted to keep it private, Avira would respect her wishes.

“How did it go?” Seline asked after a few minutes of silence. Avira had washed the worst of the grime in the river before going into town, but her outfit still showed the tears and weather from the fight.

“One Hive patrol won’t be reporting back today. Lars took a shredder-round to the shoulder, but he should be fine.” Split said. Avira scooped up the last of the stew with a chunk of bread.

Seline eyed the battle-damage on Avira’s body, practically speaking with her eyes.

“I can’t fight as well as I used to, but my training and experience is the same as ever.” She did not want to tell Seline how often she had to remind herself not to throw her life around like a tool. 

“The larger problem with fighting the Hive,” Split said and looked at Avira, as if she had not noticed this point herself, “Is that our weapons are now simple firearms. Hive are not impervious to them, but their powers grant them protection. We need stronger weapons.”

“Where do you propose we get some?” Avira asked. A simple question, no barbs in her tone.

“We take them.” Split said.

“Very funny, Split,” Avira said and sipped her coffee, “From where?”

“From whom, you mean. You’ve seen them already.” Split said.

Avira was going to tell him to stop being so mysterious, when her memory brought up what he was talking about. When they had arrived in the area, they had found several squads of dead fighters, their weapons abandoned where they had fallen.

“The Fallen.” Avira said, her excitement growing.

Avira’s thoughts were back in the town as she stalked back along the path which she had followed to find Kulmbach a week ago. The forest had started growing over some of the tracks, but with Split’s help it was easy to find the crashed Fallen skiff. Smoke had stopped billowing over the treetops but when she pulled one of the entry-hatches aside she got a face full of acrid smoke that made her hair stand on end for a moment. The internals had been badly mangled in the fight and the resulting crash, one half compressed too badly for her to enter.

In the other she found a series of cabinets. Some had been smashed open in the crash and spilled their contents onto the floor. Long, spindly rifles with a row of antennas like insect legs along the barrel. Avira scooped them all up and brought them outside. With a helping spark from Split, the rifle was ready to fire. Arc energy trailed along the antennae, pooling along the side of the long barrel when Avira pulled the trigger. A blast shot out with a crack and punched through a pine tree, followed by a reassuring hum as the rifle recharged itself from its dynamo. She put the shock rifles in a neat pile, placed a transponder on top, and went back into the wreck of the skiff. A cabinet of shock pistols followed the rifles and in a decorated room at the front of the ship, Avira found the real treasure; an elongated rifle with a thick body, a Fallen sharpshooting rifle and a pair of shock cannons, as well as a small box of additional shock charges.

By the time she emerged with her final pack of goods, her squad of volunteers from the village had arrived, called by the transponders. Bachmann was examining one of the shock rifles while Lars was posing with a shock pistol in each hand.

“Just remember they have a recharge time, so you can’t just fire willy-nilly.” Avira said while looking at Lars. Lars nods at her, only a shred of the earlier defiance remaining, before stepping a few paces away to test the pistol against a tree. It is not as loud as a conventional firearm, but she still winces with every shot that sounds into the forest.

Then she turns to Bachmann. “Same goes for the rifles, but they pack more punch and have more range, so it’s not as much of a problem.”

“Sounds good. I’ve been fired at with one but never fired one myself,” The bald man looks to the trio of large weapons in Avira’s arms, “Need some help with those?”

Avira handed off the two scorch cannons with a grateful smile. “Just don’t let anyone take these for a joyride, limited ammo. Explosive ammo.”

Bachmann handled them with great care after that second piece of information. “Duly noted. What about that spindly thing?”

Avira hefts the wire rifle in her grip. Just like Bachmann’s thoughts on the shock rifle, she has been killed by one several times in the past, but never used one as anything other than a makeshift club. “That, now that’s for me. I’ll meet you back in town, make sure to bring all this.”

“Oh, before you leave,” Bachmann says and stands up, “Refard told me to bring you to the saloon once you returned. I don’t think you need me to hold your hand all the way there, but please check in on him.”

“Will do.” Avira said and set off, wire rifle over her shoulder.

Avira walked into the saloon, boots still muddy from the forest. “Bachmann said I should come here.”

Avira found Refard in the saloon alongside some of the others. The young man that had been fiddling with the radio when she first arrived near a week ago was back, though this time he appeared less confused and was carefully working the instruments to clear up the signal.

“Thank you for coming, Avira. Since the radio started working again, we have received a few messages, but nothing useful and nothing for us.

This one, though, might be interesting for you.” Refard said and motioned towards the young man.

At the press of a button, Avira could hear the message relayed through the radio.

_Guardians… the City is lost… if there is any Light left in the system, we rally on Titan. Be brave._

Avira would recognize that voice anywhere, even if she was a Hunter and not a Titan.

“Commander Zavala.” Split said, floating off Avira’s shoulder onto the desk, his scanner playing over the instruments.

“It’s been playing for a few hours, I noticed it when I woke up.” The young man said. He looked proud.

“Where’s it coming from?” Avira said, subtly holding a hand over Split. She was sure Split could tell her, but if the kid was so happy to help, she would give him a shot at it first.

He turned back towards the equipment and consulted a display. It was visible to her, but the angle was off.

“It’s got more than one source; we’re receiving it from both the direction of the City and somewhere in the system.” He said and tapped the display, bringing up an array of data.

“Stellar coordinates and a transmitter ID. It’s being transmitted from Titan.” Split said.

Avira sat down in the nearest chair. She had been on the go for over 24 hours now with only a short rest and she was feeling it. “So, Commander Zavala survived. That’s good.”

“What do we do, Avira?” Split said. Her Ghost had turned back to her, the lens looking her in the eye.

“What do you mean?” Avira said, knowing full well what he meant. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the townsfolk in the saloon listening in, whether they tried to hide it or not. They must also have realised what Split’s indirect question meant and were waiting with bated breath for her decision.

“The Vanguard is rallying on Titan. We should be there.” Even as the Ghost said it, he could barely keep his position in the air.

She reached out with a gentle hand and held him. “Split, we have no Light, we won’t be useful to them.”

“But-“ Split started.

Avira carried on, mindful of the ears listening in. “But we can be useful here. This town needs us, just as much, if not more, than Commander Zavala needs us.”

She wished she could bring up a map of the Hive camp like Split could. “This is important too, and a potential threat to the City and to Earth if we leave it be.”

“We have to stay and end their works.” She finished. A tension drained out of the saloon and the townsfolk returned to their works. Split seemed not to notice.

But Avira still wanted to go to their jumpship. Hearing the transmission had reminded her of its existence. Not that she had really forgotten; it had just not been necessary in their work thus far, but if they could find a way to incorporate it, it might give them an edge.

Clipping Split’s shell onto her shoulder, Avira excused herself from the saloon, forced her tired body to get moving, and went back along the path she had gone when she arrived, taking a long way initially to avoid encountering Bachmann and the rest of the volunteers.

Jumpships used by the City are customarily not armed. Why, Avira does not know, but the vast majority of Jumpships carry no weapons or munitions. They are transports, means to deliver Guardians wherever they need to be in the system, and to do so quickly. Admittedly Avira is unsure of how much their jumpship relies on the power of the Light to function, but it should still fly. She holds during the remaining 100 meters to her jumpship, ensuring she has no pursuers or followers that would then learn the route to her ship’s location. It is hidden beneath a cover of bushes, hidden from aerial observation and mostly from ground, though she imagined that, to a fellow Hunter, it would stick out like a sore thumb.

An AX19 Slipper, all swept-back wings and sleek profile. She had engraved a name for it on the left bezel of the cockpit. The _Drossel_. The word had come to her when the ship had been presented to her in the City. Thinking back, she had seen that word in Kulmbach, embossed on a plaque above the front entrance of Seline’s house.

Avira sat down next to the ship. “Another piece of evidence for the pile, huh.” She mumbled.

“Do you feel like you need more?” Split said. She was not sure if his tone was mocking or gentle.

There was a moment of silence between the two.

“It’s forbidden for Guardians to seek out their past.” Split said from his position on her shoulder.

“I know.” Avira said quietly, careful to keep her voice level. She felt like she might crack if her voice did.

Split continued, in a tone gentler than Avira had ever heard from him since she had opened her eyes for the first time on that forest floor, half a century ago.

“But they cannot forbid the past seeking you out, Avira, or should I say-“

Avira held up a hand for silence. “Thanks Split. I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way.” She went through the checklist on the jumpship, making sure it was ready to fly, then began the trip back to Kulmbach. When night fell and she and Split were walking through darkness for the last mile, she allowed herself to cry in silence.

For the second night in a row, Avira walked through the front door of Seline’s house before dawn, and she could feel it keenly. Her body was protesting, exhausted. She was already asleep by the time she laid down in her bed.

Split woke her up around midday, claiming she could not stay in bed all day. She dearly wanted to, but he was right. So, wincing at the complaints from her body, she climbed out of bed and got dressed. Her suit had been damaged in the fight with the Hive patrol two days past, but someone had mended it overnight. Seline, she assumed. Her guns needed a check-up, especially her new wire rifle, but it would have to wait. Her ravenous stomach demanded attention with a far louder voice.

In the fridge she found a plate of sandwiches, marked in her name on a piece of paper. Seline entered the kitchen as she was halfway through the food.

Avira washes her current mouthful down with some water. “Thank you for the food, Seline.”

“Don’t mention it, -“ Seline catches herself on the last word.

“It’s okay, Seline. You can say it if you wish.” Avira says and puts the glass back on the table. It is the only sound in the kitchen in that moment, and it fills the silence.

“I have something for you. Can I ask you to wait in the kitchen?” Seline said and turned about, either not hearing, or ignoring, Avira’s words. The old woman did not wait for her reply before walking upstairs at a brisk pace. Seeing no reason to decline, Avira sat down in one of the chairs and waited, trying not to think of battle-plans for the assault. It felt disingenuous.

After a few minutes Seline returned with a bundle of fabric in her arms. Without a word she handed it to Avira and stepped back. The fabric was warm to the touch yet light, dyed in a dark blue colour that Avira could recall seeing several other places in the house. The bundle, evidently a cloak, unfolded easily when she let it, dangling down to just above her ankles. The hood was deep and would hide Avira’s face easily or obscure a helmet. A clasp held it together, fashion in a utilitarian metal disc. The final touch was unveiled when Avira turned it around. Embroidered on the back in golden thread was a recreation of the stylised Traveller from the church’s stained-glass window, rays of its silver-thread Light shining from it.

A cloak was practically a Hunter’s badge of office. Hers had been torn to shreds during her fall from the cliff, and in the meantime, there had been other matters to focus on. Avira clasped the magnificent cloak around her neck with great care, leaving the hood down.

Seline stood in front of her with a tense expression, like someone holding their composure by force of will.

Avira embraces the older woman and holds her as tight as she dares. It takes a moment before Seline reciprocates. The two women stand there for a moment.

“Thank you,” Avira says and gently breaks the embrace, taking a step back, “Sister.”

At that, they both begin tearing up, neither speaking, just acknowledging the moment that has been brewing ever since Avira met Seline in the saloon.

She still considers herself Avira, the Hunter. That is her name, title, and profession. But she remembers, in part, the life she had before. Gabriela Drossel, sister of Seline Drossel and an inhabitant of Kulmbach. She does not remember how she died, and she does not want Seline to dredge up those memories on her behalf. In the evening of that day, Split shows her what footage he has left of when he found her body and brought her back to life. It was in a forest, miles from the city. She had been the only body in the clearing, and there had been two sets of tracks; a group of humans and a group of Fallen, each going in their own direction. She had felt a pull, the pull of the City, of the Traveller, and so she had followed the trail of the Fallen. What might have happened if she had gone the other way? It is a line of questioning that would never end, so Avira tried to push it from her mind and sleep.


	6. The Duty of the Light

The jumpship lifts off, the VTOL-style engines working without a sound. Peerless City technology, probably a leftover from the Golden Age. Avira keeps a close eye on the instruments and radar-readout, but there is nothing to take note of. She relays the lift-off to Kulmbach’s radio and begins her scouting run.

She flies a couple of miles out, banks around and speeds over the treetops over the Hive camp, Split using the Jumpship’s instruments to take as much data as he can. Avira speeds past several times before Split says it is sufficient and they return to the clearing to land.

“So, what’s the news?” Avira asks while they wind their way back to the town. The sky is overcast, leaving everything with a grey tinge.

It takes a moment for Split to emerge from his deliberations and calculations. “Their camp is much the same as last, albeit with some more barricades. The portal structure is complete.”

“The ritual is still not finished, though.” Split hastens to add.

“How much time do we have?”

A moment of silence. “A few days.” Split gives the timeframe with a casual tone. In the old days, that would have been oceans of time. These were not the old days.

“Anything we can do to prolong it?” Avira gathers some dead branches as she finds them, slowly adding to a growing bundle over her shoulder.

“Nothing that would be simple or risk-free.” Split replies.

“Give it to me anyways,” Avira says, “Risk-free is boring.” Practically a Hunter mantra.

With the absence of Light-given abilities, they have two main options; destroy the circular portal constructed in the centre of the Hive camp or kill the Wizard in charge of the ritual. But both are heavily guarded and difficult with their weakened arsenal. A shock launcher can demolish a Wizard, they are made to destroy tanks after all, but only really with direct hits. With Avira holding one of them, a direct hit should be feasible, but they would have to arrive in the camp with enough charges remaining to finish the job.

Getting to the centre of the camp and past all patrols or fight through. Neither are great options, especially with the squad that she has. Calling it a fireteam would be generous.

Pieces click together in her mind. Kulmbach appears through an opening in the trees.

“I have an idea, though I think both Amanda Holliday and you would hate it.” Avira says with a grin growing on her features.

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Split says.

Avira sits down on a log and outlines her plan. The plan is simple, so it does not take long. She wishes Cayde-6 were here. He would have loved it.

“That is madness.” Split says after a moment. As she expected.

“It would get us close to the centre of the camp and would severely damage, if not outright destroy, the central structure, possibly beyond repair,” Avira says while she tries not to laugh, “And the resulting bedlam would draw in the patrols and allow the squad to get close.”

“And what about you?” Split asks, hovering away from her shoulder to look her in the eye.

“As long as I can get out in time, I should be fine.”

“Listen to yourself,” Split says, anger in his machine-voice, “You know as well as I do that there’s no coming back now. If you mess it up, that’s it. You’re gone. I won’t be able to bring you back.”

Avira’s grin fades, but there is no remorse. “Trust me, I know. I won’t mess it up.”

“And you’re sure you have to go?” Seline asks.

Avira and she are standing in the entrance-hall. Avira is dressed in her full suit, with the gift-cloak from Seline proudly over her shoulders. Her pistol, the one she still carries from the City, in its holster on her hip. The wire rifle procured from the Fallen skiff wreckage strapped across her back. Seline has a shawl around her shoulders, claiming a chill in the air.

“There’s little time left before they finish their work,” Avira says, “If we don’t strike then it’ll be too late.”

Seline nods, though her expression is strained. “Be careful, Gabriela, please.” She makes to speak further but restrains herself. Avira decides not to push it. They embrace, across the gulf of time, and Avira walks out the door.

The volunteers meet her at the northern edge of town, all carrying the weapons scavenged from the Fallen skiff. The shock launchers are strapped to Bachmann and Lars, ready to be used. Each has been given a surplus charge each, enough for a single reload. The remainder have been wired as improvised explosives in place of C4, 2 having been handed out to each. Avira carries a surplus pair for use with her jumpship.

They go over the plan again in general terms, Avira ensuring they all remember their parts and the signals. She tells them that they will know when to commit to the final assault. The signal will be obvious. On Bachmann’s command, they all salute her. Avira grins but tells to knock it off before heading off. They will need her jumpship for this plan and it is where she left it after her scouting runs. This is it, she thinks, the final assault. At day’s end, the Hive will have been driven away from the EDZ.

“This is Avira, the ship _Drossel_ starting first approach.” Avira says into the radio. The line is clear.

A reply comes in, only slightly garbled by the interruption of the tree cover. “Bachmann here, received. We’re standing ready at the first point. Good luck, Guardian.”

The jumpship banks right and speeds over the Hive camp, just like it had a day prior. The Hive are more ready for this scouting craft now, and when Avira flies by on her second pass, she can hear small-arms fire peppering the underside of the hull and a few errant boomer-shots from Knights fly past.

On her third pass, Split brings up the radar display. The camp is packed, ready for her. She gives Split the order to drop the improvised shock-bombs they set up under the ship and turns away before the Acolytes can open fire. An explosion rocks the forest a second later as the shock-bombs hit their targets and scatter the Hive. The shockwave even jolts the ship as it banks around for the final pass. She can see the central portal-structure; the shock-bombs barely harmed it, but that had not been the intent; the bombs were to scatter the defenders so she could have a clear run.

The _Drossel_ pushes its afterburners to full as it howls over the treetops towards the forest floor. Too late, the Hive defending the structure realise the vector and dive for cover, only firing a couple energy blasts in the ship’s direction. One impacts on the wing, but its speed and mass keeps it on course. None of the Hive on the ground notice the energy signature of a transmat firing just before the jumpship crashes into the portal-structure.

Shortly after Avira’s radio message, the Hive patrol Bachmann and the others are tailing stop in their path and change direction, moving through the brush at pace towards the direction of the camp. As planned, the squad waits for the sounds of explosions before moving forward. They trust that the attentions of the Hive are focused elsewhere, and they make little effort towards a silent approach. The shock-cannons are made ready, the shock-rifles emitting a low whine as they charge. As they approach the final holding point, Bachmann wonders what signal the Guardian had in mind. She had said it would be unmistakable.

As Avira’s words reform in his memory, another explosion rocks the forest. The canopy above them is blown away for a moment and the forest floor shakes. A third explosion can be heard a moment later.

“That’s gotta be the signal,” Bachmann shouts and hefts the shock-cannon, “Let’s go!” The others shout a cheer, fists in the air, and ready their guns.

As the squad run towards the camp, Bachmann hopes that explosion was not what he thought it was.

“Promise never to do that again.”

Avira tests the branches supporting her and finds them solid enough for her purpose. “I promise, Split, that I will not intentionally use my jumpship as a missile again.”

“Thank you.” Her Ghost says. His lens begins flitting about, highlighting Hive soldiers in the chaotic camp below. They light up on her helmet’s display with blue lines. The shock-bombs had been less successful than she had hoped, but they had created enough chaos for her real ‘bombing run’ to have the intended effect. The bone-white stones of the portal structure were not scattered all around the camp, like a playset after the attentions of a surly child. In the centre, a smoking crater still wracked by smaller explosions as fuel reserves and weird Hive magics caused explosions in each other. Shrapnel from the AX19 had flown outward in a devastating cone, devastating anyone caught in their path. It would take days to even remove the wreckage, let alone start rebuilding the ritual. They could retreat and return to fight another day, but Avira wanted the Wizard. With that, the Hive would surely retreat entirely, and now was the best time.

She had a good position to fire from, but she would only have a few shots before she would be noticed. Acolytes and Knights were surrounding the wrecked jumpship, probably expecting to find a pilot. Thralls were running to and fro in the clearing on tasks she could not perceive. The Wizard was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it had been flattened in one of the explosions, she hoped and wondered. Split displayed images moments before each explosion, the Wizard absent from each and every one.

“Spoilsport.” She said with a smile.

One of the Knights, Hive-cleaver in hand, stepped up to the cockpit and tore off the hatch. Even as multiple Hive closed in to see within, more explosions rocked the camp, scattering the Hive. Bachmann and Lars fire a volley of shock-bombs at the assembled Hive to good effect, the other volunteers opening fire with their scavenged weapons. By the time the Hive reform and fire back, the volunteers have changed positions. A guerrilla firefight begins below her. Perfect pandemonium for a sniper.

A Knight turns to a group of Acolytes and orders them forward towards the gunfire. As they pass by the Knight, Avira pulls the trigger, and the wire rifle kicks slightly. A sound like a muted gong and the Knight collapses in a scattering of chitin-armour. When the Acolytes turn for further orders, they find their would-be leader dead on the ground. A shock-cannon round hits the confused group a second later, scattering their broken bodies. Another Knight is taking cover behind the wreckage of her jumpship and firing back with its boomer-cannon. Avira masks the sound of her own rifle with the Knight’s next shot, but the wire-round does not put the Knight down in a single hit, instead only shearing off the left side of its head. Fire burning green with Hive-magic erupts from the dreadful wound and the Knight recoils then scans the battlefield, trying to see where the shot came from. Avira takes a deep breath and fires again and the Knight collapses backwards.

She hears the Acolytes shout before the shredder rounds hit. Two simply hit the trunk, but one grazes her side. She gasps at the burst of pain but manages to bear it. With a twist she changes position, partly to dodge the next burst but also to put the shooter in her line of sight. A wire round through the chest puts the Acolyte down and kills the worm within. Its fellows look up at the shouting and begin to fire, but they only get a single burst off before a shock-bomb hits and scatters the squad. Avira scrambles down the side of the tree, careful not to let her slung rifle or cloak snag on a branch. More shots fly past her or hit the tree, but the attentions of the Hive are focused on the volunteers surrounding the camp. She wonders if they have caught on to the low numbers of her squad, or if they are assuming greater numbers from the many angles of fire. A Knight takes a shock-bomb to the chest and survives, though their form is smoking, and the armour is severely damaged. Avira pauses her descent just enough to put a wire-round through its chest.

A horrible howling sounds over the battlefield as the herds of Thralls sprint for the wood line. The volunteers are too scattered to be caught as a group, but that conversely means they are too scattered to stop a rush of Thralls. Shock-bombs land in the herd but they only thin it, they cannot stop it. Avira tries her best to cull them before they escape out her line of fire, but a wire-rifle shoots slowly, it is a sharpshooter’s weapon, not a defensive weapon. She hears screaming, human screaming from the woods. She cannot recognise the voice from screams alone. The firing of shock-bombs slows down, only one launcher now.

Some of the Hive pull back and form a circle around a part of the structure-wreckage. After a moment, the Wizard appears. Avira can tell it is injured, but it floats untroubled above the ground, the very air around it sick with its magic. Arc-powered rounds fly out of the wood line to impact on the Wizard’s shield, only succeeding in creating a faint shimmer in the air. The Wizard snarls in its hideous tongue and retaliates with a long stream of green fire that lights the forest. Avira can vaguely see a shape leaving the location, but the Hive clearly see it too, a trail of Thralls leaping in pursuit.

More shock-cannon rounds come from the forest, staggered so the shooter has some idea of the trajectory. The first scatters a pile of wreckage and the third flies harmlessly overheard, but the second hits the Wizard dead-on. Avira has to stop herself from exulting, but then she sees the shape of the Wizard through the energy cascade, still alive. She aims the wire rifle at its head and fires, but the shield protecting it is too strong. It waves its lanky arms and chants, and the Solar energy from the shock-bomb is changed and reformatted in mid-air before returned to the sender beyond the trees. Avira can hear two explosions from the forest, one much smaller than the other. Hopefully, the volunteer is safe.

“Hold on, Avira, something’s happening.” Split mumbles on her shoulder. She is not sure if the Hive know her location, so she is thankful he is keeping his voice down. The tone of his voice, however, is unsettling.

“I’m listening.” She says while looking through the scope of her rifle. The intensity of fire from the forest has thinned significantly and the shock-bombs have stopped coming since those explosions in the forest.

A blue outline springs up on her helmet’s display. “That building the Wizard came from, I’m detecting something,” Split holds a moment, the lens of his eye going wild with light and movement, “Sterile neutrino scattering. The Wizard is summoning the Taken.” His tone is as near a panic as Avira has ever heard him, but she cannot blame him. The predations of the Hive are trouble enough, but a wave of Taken, especially now that the Light is weakened, would devastate the entire region.

“It will cascade out of control in less than 20 seconds.” Split says. The Wizard is highlighted in her display, alongside a number rapidly counting downwards. A timer.

She rises from her cover and fires the rifle, works the action and fires again. The shield shimmers and quivers slightly but shows no signs of strain. She cannot burn through it with that. A volley of fire from the soldiers forces her to dive to the side for the cover of a pile of wreckage. A shock-bomb would penetrate, but all the launchers are scattered in the forest, if they even still function. She looks down at her belt. A shock-bomb is clipped onto it, but she has no launcher. A plan rises in her mind. She dares not say it to Split; in many ways, it is exactly like the plan she swore never to repeat.

Avira rolls over the cover and takes off in a run. The Wizard is directly in front of her but some 10 meters away, Hive soldiers all around it. Its hideous features turn towards her with some semblance of a smile. The soldiers fire, and at this range they find it hard to miss. One advantage of having fought to the death countless times, is that you gain an understanding of just how far you can push your body, when it fails beyond where her willpower can push it onwards. A shredder round tears through her shoulder, but it hits too high to stop her movements. She dives forward and rolls when an energy blast impacts on the forest floor, shredding her legs with motes of energy and rock shrapnel. It hurts but she can keep going. An Acolyte leaps towards her and she forces it aside with a shoulder-slam. Finally, she is close enough. The Wizard turns towards her, and it seems to take forever in her perception. Avira reaches for her belt and unclips the shock-bomb then throws it at the Wizard. As it soars towards the Wizard’s face and the creature realises the intent of her reckless charge, it is too late. Avira draws and fires her pistol in a blur.

The shock-bomb goes off from the pistol round and the Solar energy devastates everything around it. Enough power to destroy tanks shreds through the Wizard’s shield like a soap bubble in a furnace. The body beneath shrieks and is reduced to dust.

The Hive immediately next to the Wizard share the same fate and are destroyed by the Solar energy. Shrapnel scatters away from the blast, maiming yet more. With their camp devastated and the Wizard dead, the Hive lose heart and begin to scatter, to lose themselves in the forest or to the appetites of their worms.

Avira stands in the devastation with a grin, her pistol still in her hand. She is caked in dirt and soot from the battlefield.

“Great work, Avira. The survivors are on the run. Let’s go check on the volunteers.” Split turns towards the wood line and hovers a few feet.

“Avira?”

When Split turns back towards her, she has removed her helmet and looks around the battlefield with a dazed expression. She is pale as a sheet. Even as Split begins to worry, Avira collapses to the ground, the left side of her combat-suit stained with blood. She breathes in short gaps, but her face displays no pain.

“Avira!” Split hurries back to her side. There is a wound in her side, probably caused by shrapnel from the explosion. The wound is huge and ragged and blood flows freely from it. Split does not need to do any analysis to know there is nothing he can do.

“I knew it was a risk.” Avira says gently. She is holding her hand out for Split to sit on, even though it must be draining what precious little strength she has left. He has seen her die many, many times before. He knows this is the last, but he is simply a machine. A Ghost, maybe, a fragment of the Traveller, but a machine, nonetheless.

“Guardian!” Bachmann shouts as he runs to them. The left side of his face is covered in blood and scorched, but he looks as healthy as ever.

“What are you waiting for, little ghost, heal her!” He shouts at Split. A few of the other volunteers emerge from the wood line but they do not approach.

“There is nothing I can do, not anymore,” Split says, not turning away from Avira, “If only I had the Light, I could-“

Avira shushes him. “You’ve done plenty, Split. Without you I would have never met my sister again, never had a chance to see all those places I wanted to see.” Tears fall from her eyes, but she still speaks clearly.

She closes her hand slightly, the closest she can get to hugging the little Ghost. “I would have changed nothing. Nothing at all.”

She turns to Bachmann. Her voice is very faint now. “Please tell my sister that I am sorry to leave her again like this,” She taps the clasp of the cloak, “Make sure she gets this.”

“We will.” Bachmann and Split say in unison.

Her face set in a smile, Avira closes her eyes.


	7. Epilogue - Home

The jumpship exited the jump and air braked hard, skimming over the tops of trees. A flock of birds got the fright of their lives. Finding the clearing it had scouted ahead of time, it touched down gently.

Cayde-6 climbed out, thankful for yet another landing that he would be able to fly away from. His personal ship was still under repairs, Holliday swearing at him every time she saw him. Wasn’t his fault that Nessus had such tough ground.

He began covering the jumpship in sections of brush. “Sundance, report.”

“Do you need to say it like that?” Sundance replied and displayed the holographic.

“Avira, Hunter. She went out here on a solo patrol a day before the Red War, no communication since.”

Cayde glanced at the image. “Ah, Avira. Good Hunter, good Guardian.”

He finished covering the ship. “I owe her some money.”

“Town nearby, called Kulmbach. Let’s ask there.” Sundance displayed a large holographic arrow, pointing to the east.

Cayde-6 approached slowly and under the cover of the trees till he was sure it was humans he saw on the walls. Being so used to the diverse company of Guardians and the City, the Exo found it curious to see a settlement of just humans. No Awoken, fellow Exos or even service droids.

Cayde intentionally revealed himself as he closed on the wall. The sentries were startled but kept their guns in check. Seeing no reason to beat around the bush, Cayde asked directly about the Hunter he was seeking. When he mentioned Avira by name, the demeanour of the sentries changed drastically. One of them, a bald man with a nasty scar across his face, offered to lead him into the village.

Seline was sat on a small chair by the grave when Bachmann arrived, another Hunter in tow. Seline had not met many Guardians, but this one carried himself in a similar manner to how Avira had when she arrived.

Bachmann excused himself and returned to the wall, the sound of his footsteps on the soft grass of the cemetery fading away. The new arrival stood in silence looking at the grave. Seline was content in the silence.

Split floated up from his position in her lap. “Cayde-6.”

“I was afraid I would find something like this.” The Exo Hunter said and looked back to the grave. Seline found his voice very kind, much different than she had been expecting.

“ _Avira Gabriela Drossel_ ,” Cayde mouthed, following the line etched on the stone, “ _Light does not a Guardian make, actions do._ ”

Cayde chuckled. “Blue Man would like that one.”

“How did it happen?” Cayde said, looking at Split again. The Ghost left Seline and floated down to hover over the grave.

Split explained the events of the past few weeks in hushed tones, along with Avira’s bombastic plan to assault the Hive camp. Cayde listened to every word, laughing out loud at the telling of the Jumpship crash.

Finishing the tale, Split was silent for a long moment. “We had no Light, but we were needed. Avira, no, Gabriela did not let that slow her down.”

Cayde nodded slowly. “Did she die well?”

“Could ask for nothing better.” Split said, glancing at Seline. The old woman kept her smile, though the pain had not faded entirely.

“Normally we bring Guardians back to the City, back home, when they die.” Cayde said, looking at both the Ghost and the old woman.

“There is no need, sir,” Seline said and wiped away a tear,

“She’s home already.”


End file.
